Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Up 6.9% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) were up 6.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $56.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Bank of America traded as high as $45.45 and last traded at $44.77. Approximately 36,316,191 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 5% from the average daily volume of 38,332,059 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.88.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies raised Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.97.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total value of $369,952,591.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 766,305,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,606,297,408.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total transaction of $369,952,591.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 766,305,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,606,297,408.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total transaction of $3,661,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,067,817 shares of company stock valued at $4,548,518,070. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Accent Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 39,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 11,873 shares during the period. Adero Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 15.9% during the third quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 6,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 961 shares during the period. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 144.8% during the third quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC now owns 47,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,873,000 after acquiring an additional 27,917 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 24,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $965,000 after acquiring an additional 1,211 shares during the period. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $348.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.96.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The company’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 37.82%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Company Profile

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. It operates in four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, and Global Markets.